Jonathan York, response and recovery branch director for the Kansas Division of Emergency Management, said during a town hall meeting Saturday that preliminary reports show the April 27 that hit Baxter Springs didn’t have a magnitude to meet public assistance or individual assistance from FEMA. About 100 of the city’s 2,000 homes and 12 businesses were damaged by the EF-2 tornado.

FEMA looks at the concentration and extent of damage in a community when making a disaster declaration.

Gov. Sam Brownback has requested a Small Business Administration disaster declaration for Cherokee County and adjacent counties, which would make low-interest, long-term loans available.